Flightless Bird, American Mouth
by CanadianSnowflake
Summary: She awakens. She's not as she was. When she sleeps she sees dark hair, ocean eyes and something silver gleaming. She hears lilting Irish voices, and sometimes she can almost see him. She learns how to heal the wounded, and help herself, but she's unhappy. Something is missing and whomever it is will help her retrieve her memories. Emma needs to find him.
1. Part 1

**AN:/ I am starting this one too as it has been sitting on my computer for a bit. Just felt like getting it out there. The title is based off of the Song by Iron & Wine. It's called 'Flightless Bird, American Mouth'. It's fabulous. I hope you enjoy and I will be updating this & Halo tomorrow after I get home. Thanks for all the love and support you guys. XX **

**Disclaimer: I wish. **

When she awakens, her heart is heavy and her mind is clouded.

She can hear the birds chirping, and the wind singing its sweet, hollowed sounds. She can hear the leaves rustling in the trees, taste the cool air. She can taste and feel dust in the air, like the worn pages of a book against your fingertips.

Her heart thunders softly under her touch as she opens her eyes.

She turns her head, and finds flowers. Oh the flowers. She's encased in flowers. A bed of peonies, light pink roses and baby's breath.

Daisy's and other jewels woven into her long hair.

She's sleepy, but she's awoken, as if her body has been in the deepest slumber for _ages_.

.

The glass moves easily as she stands, looking like a broken angel.

She has no recollection of the past, no recollection of who she is.

She finds a mirror, and stares at her reflection.

A tall, slender blonde woman stares back at her. Eyes dark blue universes, cheeks still regaining color. Her hair is long, and golden, shining slightly in the artificial light.

She was in a crypt.

She sees candles lit all around the room. Part of her wonders how they lit when they weren't lit before.

.

She walks outside, and the breeze is cold.

She's only wearing a light white dress, that touches the ground. Simple beading.

Her feet are bare.

The only two things that may help her is the ring on her finger and the locket around her neck.

Her feet carry her to a shop. It looks to be a pawn shop.

Her eyes are sleep filled, half open. Not fully awake, but not sleeping either.

She pushes open the door.

She sees a man, working behind a glass counter.

His eyes look up, as they widen.

He knows her somehow, she figures.

She turns her head, a flower falling to the ground.

"Emma," He says, his Scottish accent breaking slightly.

Emma?

She feels a calling deep down in her chest towards something. Someone perhaps.

.

His name is Rumplestiltskin and he tells her of a place, or well of the location of whom she needs to regain her memories.

She nods, taking in the information. He's in a place called the Enchanted Forest.

Perhaps.

He hands her a small, clear bean.

"Everyone else is there too…there is a bloody war going on Princess," He says.

"I'll guide you, but we will be separated once we arrive there."

It's all she has to go on.

.

She lands with a hard thud on the ground.

She's alone again.

She's not as she was.

Her body thrums with something else.

_Magic_.

She walks through the forest, her dress floating just above the ground.

Just like an angel.

_Killian leapt down from the beanstalk and brushed off the dirt from his pants. _

_He turned back to her and held out a hand. _

_She hung onto the vines of the beanstalk with one hand, and gripped his hand with her free one. She took his hand as he helped her jump down from the stalk._

_She looks at the ruins and gasped softly. _

_"What happened here?" She asked quietly. _

_"It's where the final battle was." He replied. _

_"Give me your hand." He said quickly._

_"What?" She asked confused. _

_Hook looked to her hand. _

_"Your hand-it's cut. Let me help you." She shakes her head._

_She saw the blood beginning to drip. _

_"No, no. It's fine." She protested. _

_"No, it's not." Hook took her hand against her will and, drawing her close to him, he inspected it carefully. She breathed in his scent. _

_The ocean. Rum, salty air, a mix that weakened her knees and caused her pulse to race. _

_She gave him a weak dark glance. _

_"So, now you're going to be a gentleman?"_

_Hook leaned in close and whispered, "Giants can smell blood. And I'm always a gentleman." _

_He drew a small bottle out and uncorked it with his teeth, spitting it back on the ground, and poured it all over her bloody hand. _

_It hurt like hell. "What the hell is that?" She growled._

_"It's rum." He answered simply. "And a bloody waste of it."_

_He removed his scarf from around his neck and wrapped it around her stinging palm. _

_"__Now, here's the plan: We wait for the giant to fall asleep. And when he does, we'll sneak past him into his cave. It's where the treasure lies-where the compass is."_

_"And then?" She asked training her eyes on his._

_"And then we run like hell." He whispered in her ear. _

_She leaned back a little. _

_"I don't have time to wait for a giant to fall asleep." She said defiantly. _

_He laughed a little at my rebellious tendencies. _

_"The powder Mulan gave us-we can to use it. We have to knock him out." She said._

_Hook cocked his head to the side. "Well, that's riskier." He said in a bland voice. _

_No adventure for him today apparently. _

_"Riskier than waiting for a giant to fall asleep?" She asked, challenging him._

_He looked down at her, his eyes straying just a little too far down to her lips for a second too long, and grinned. _

_She surpreses a shiver. _

_"Point taken." He said. _

_"You're a tough lass. You'd make one hell of a pirate." He said with a smirk. _

_She let go of him and looked at his wrist. _

_"Who's Milah, on the tattoo?" She asked, looking to the name written on his wrist in a red heart. _

_Hook averted her eyes and walked away, going past her. _

_"Someone from long ago." He said in a sad yet stern voice. _

_She blinked softly. _

_"__Where is she?" She asked quietly._

_"She's gone." He responded shortly, bitterly, and most importantly sadly._

_She paused to think. "Gold," She breathed. _

_"Rumpelstiltskin. He took more than your hand, didn't he?" She asked sadly. _

_"That's why you want to kill him." She deduced._

_Hook turned on me angrily and snapped. "For someone who's never been in love, you're quite perceptive, aren't you?" _

_She stopped as he walked away. "Maybe I was-once." She said._

The memory is brief, sudden and everything confuses her for a moment.

She comes across a large stone wall, looking to what leads to be a castle.

.

She walks in, and receives odd looks and startled glances.

Her feet are tired and sore as hunger nabs away at her stomach.

She sees men in armor walking by.

Some of them are young.

Some of them are old so they hobble slightly when they walk.

Some of them are boys.

.

Somehow, she wanders into a palace.

Marble floors, cold beneath her now aching feet.

She sees guards, some whose eyes widen.

She hears people arguing, many different voices.

"We need to stop the war on the front!" A man yells.

"Do what you need to do," A tired voice says.

_Leroy Stands, his eyes widened as he looks to Mary Margaret, or Snow. _

_"__It would appear so." David says. Her father. _

_Ruby's voice is small, not the loud boom and happiness She was used to. "What do we do now?"_

_"__Now? Now I find my daughter." Mary Margaret says. _

_She decides to make herself known. "So it's true?" She asks, disbelief lining my voice. _

_David and Mary Margaret turn to face me. _

_They're silent for a very long time before her mother takes her in her arms, whispering something so broken. _

_"__You Found us." _

"My king, we feel that this war is taking a toll on your psyche, perhaps we should…" The man doesn't get to finish.

"MY DAUGHTER IS DEAD. DON'T YOU SEE? SHE WOULD HAVE FOUGHT!" He suddenly yells. The room falls silent.

Her head which had been resting against the door, suddenly makes it fall open.

She lands on the floor.

"Emma?" A broken woman's voice asks.

She opens her eyes and see the woman from her vision looming over her.

Her hair is longer now, curling in long waves. "David," She says.

The woman's happy.

She smiles before falling unconscious.

.

Her memories come back to her in fragments more and more each day.

Mixing with the new ones.

Regina was at war with her parents (again).

Henry was with Regina (safe).

People were dying, and the war was taking a toll.

She had been 'dead' for five years.

Each day she learns to fight.

Swords, arrows, guns, knives.

She's being trained in new ways.

Months after being awoken I hear a name familiar being spoken.

"Hook".

.

Her parents have rarely mentioned the name, but it brings Emma confusion.

When she sleeps she sees dark hair, ocean eyes and something silver gleaming.

She hears lilting Irish voices, and sometimes she can almost see him.

She learns how to heal the wounded, and help herself, but she's unhappy.

Something is missing and whomever it is will help her retrieve her memories.

.

It's winter when she sets off.


	2. Part 2

**AN:/ Actually updating this now...hehe. **

**Disclaimer: Heh. That's funny. **

I walk through the snow, leading my horse.

The crows caw at us as I follow Mulan through the snow.

The wind is harsh, biting as we near the mountains.

"Gods we're in trouble," Anton mumbles behind me.

I hear something snap, and my ears perk up.

Something was out there. _Someone_.

Mulan notices it too, and we both crouch, as I pull my bow back, my braid touching my knee.

Suddenly a bow slices through the silence.

It pierces through Anton's chest.

I am a medicinal healer, that was my purpose on the trip truly. But we had lost many a man, and right now I needed to be fighter.

I rush to Anton and try and pry the bow from his chest.

He's struggling.

I cup his cheek.

"Leave me," He says.

I see the horse and shake my head.

I yank the bow out quickly.

Luckily I didn't strike a vein, as I place my hand to cover his chest. Thick blood runs form the wound.

I help him onto the horse as I get behind him.

I see Mulan. "GO!" She shouts.

I see some of the dark soldiers take off towards us.

I ride. We take off through the snow, Anton falling unconscious.

The dwarves.… I jump off.

"Anton, I need you to go to the dwarves house, there you will find matrons to take care of your wounds. It is an hours ride from here, keep pressure my dear friend," I wish quickly.

"But princess," He says.

I shake my head.

"Go," I wish.

He nods and I kiss his cheek before letting him go.

As I do, something slams down on my back. I cry out. I turn and raise my sword.

A dark swordsman stares, well through layers of protective armor, back at me.

"A hefty price you'd go for," He says. I can see the mirth in his eyes.

Our swords clash as we fight

I see Mulan coming behind him. I let my guard up, as he slices my cheek open.

It's futile.

"That's the Princess!" A man shouts. Mulan is shot through the stomach with an arrow.

"NO!" I shriek as they grab me and pull me back.

"Silly, silly princess," He teases, before I too, am knocked unconscious.

.

I wake up, lying in a warm room. It's dark, so I cannot see much, but I know I am not in a cell.

"Oh good, you're awake," A sweet voice says.

"Ruby," I say.

She smiles as she lights a torch. "It is." She says.

I try to sit up but wince.

"You were given quite the beating my dear, I've tended to as much as possible, but, we don't have much here," She says.

"Here?" I ask.

"The dwarves home," She says.

"Mulan, did you get Mulan?" I ask, holding her arms.

She looks down. "The Queen's men took her before I could get there. She was unconscious, but alive. I needed to get you first, I'm sorry Emma." She says.

Tears, hot and burning well in my eyes.

"And the others?" I ask.

"They're here, awaiting you of course, but, the neighboring kingdom is close, they've yet to be taken over," She says.

"Have you seen any traces of him?" I ask.

"Hook?" She asks. I nod. She shakes her head.

"Not in months, he was headed towards the coast to lead naval battle, but, last I heard he was still fighting his way down there, he's near Nostos now," She says.

That was sixty miles west.

"Are there stables nearby?" I ask.

"Only unbridled horses," She says.

"That's goodenough," I say.

I sit up, wincing.

"Emma, you're seriously hurt, you can't move," She chides.

"People are dying Ruby!" I say sharply.

"He could be dead, and…I can't do this. I need to go, now. Tell my men. Can I borrow one of your cloaks? We're going disguised this time,' I say.

She looks at me. "That's an order." I say sternly.

She purses her lips before getting up.

"I'll help disguise you," She says.

She colors my hair with charcoal, turning it ashen.

She darkens my makeup.

"Make this last," She says.

I nod.

"Do not take your hood off, no matter what," She says.

I nod. The snow's let up.

"Find him, raise your army," She says.

"I will, thank you," I say kissing her cheek and hugging her.

I feel a wet tear slide down my cheek.

She pulls back, tears rolling down her face.

"Save the lands, Emma." She says.

I hug her tightly. That would be the last time I saw Ruby.

.

It's a bitter cold that seeps into your bones.

I was the leader of fifteen men.

We had all gotten horses, and were making our way down near Nostos.

It was critical.

There I could build an army, there we had a chance.

We move slowly, not wanting to draw attention to ourselves.

I wore a bright red cloak, a sign of slavery in Regina's land.

I was behind the men, with Peter, in front.

Knives and bows were easily accessible to me, but I was still nervous.

So much could go wrong in an instant.

So many could die with a false move.

We had moved about thirty miles and we had decided to set camp up in a cave. It was cold, a bitter cold setting into my bones. My mind strayed to Hook. Ruby's words loomed in the back of my head.

I thought of my parents, and their sleeping faces.

Regina had cast a sleeping curse on the people of my land.

I was the only one who made it out.

She was the only one who could reverse it.

I was on my own again.

.

We reach Nostos, twenty miles south of the Queen's castle.

I hand Peter ten gold schillings.

"Buy everyone a room, get food for yourselves and the horses." I say.

He nods.

"Yes my Queen," He says.

Queen. My official title. I was a ruler now.

Terrifying.

I walk down the streets where I see a tavern.

I walk to the bar and order a shot of rum.

I am given a glass.

.

"He's her slave." A voice says. I turn.

I see a man with wavy, dark hair. I can't see his face.

I see a flash of gold though.

"She took his heart."

My own clenches.

"Who? Regina?" I ask.

He nods, he looks at me.

Rumplestiltskin looks _exhausted_.

"She's draining me of magic. She knows where you are. She's waiting…she wants you dead, Emma."

I gulp.

"Where's his heart?" I ask.

He giggles, but it's no longer high, it's hoarse, drawn out likes he's inhaled too much smoke.

"Wherever she takes it. He's not just her main gaurd…you know. He's the new Graham," He drawls.

Vile rises in my throat.

I nod.

"Understood," I say thickly.

"You'll have to do this alone you know. Defeat her yourself…you can't…the men will die if you bring them." He says.

"Die?" I ask.

"Dead, no coming back, blood covering your hands." He says.

I nod. Understood.

"When should I leave?" I ask. "Tomorrow, just before dawn. Lose the outfit Emma." He says, with a rare grin.

"Your coronation will be beautiful."

"So will the wedding."

He's gone in a flash of smoke, leaving behind a bottle of rum.

.

I leave at dawn, a note left to Peter. I told him that if I wasn't back within five days to leave.

I left him enough money to cover.

I ride through the forest, wearing my traditional clothes, hugging my horse closely.

I was preparing for a battle that needed to be waged.

.

I hear the sound of horses coming behind me.

"Emma!" Peter shouts.

I look, behind him an army.

My mouth opens in shock. Men, of all ages stare at me.

We stop in the neighboring village. My parents crest on their chests.

"He gave us this," Peter says.

I am given pure silver armor. I see the crest lying over it. It covers me completely and feels as if I was made to wear it. I look at the helmet and smile.

Peter gives me a hopeful smile.

"We'll win." He says.

For the first time since I awoke, I feel hope.

.

There's arguing. Which ways should we enter the castle, whose to lead, who has the most military expirience?

I cut in.

"Stop!" I shout.

The bickering ends.

People stare at me.

I look at the dwarves who smile at me, encouraging.

"Regina is going to win if we keep arguing like children! How is it that she is not even here and is winning?" I yell.

"We are more than fairytales. We're people, we're legends!

Their army outnumbers us! Yet shall we stand down when so many innocents have gone before us? Or will we avenge those whom she wrongfully took from us? This day we rescue a world from mysticism and tyranny and usher in a future brighter than anything we can imagine!" I yell.

"But what if we die?" A young boy asks.

"Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you'll live - at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom! She will not win! She shall not prevail, men. We are more than bodies on the fields, do not let her take that from us!" I yell.

Everyone erupts into cheering.

"WHO'S WITH ME?" I yell.

More cheering.

.

I lead us as we ride cross the beach.

Peter rides beside me.

"Do you think we shall win, Princess?" he asks.

"I'm not sure, but we're going to try." I say giving him a smile.

My sword is at my side, hope ringing in my ears.

We could do this, we had to.

.

They expected us.

Fire is hurled at us, as our arrows slice through the air.

It's casualties on both fronts, as the sky turns dark and cloudy, storm filled.

The dwarves have made it inside, and open the gates for us.

Dark Knights attack us, but light always beats darkness.

I see the castle. I run up the steps.

I'm blindly searching.

.

I hear men running after me as I raise my sword in defense. I am backed into a room that is tiled.

The doors shet ominously.

I hear his lilting voice and I take in a shuddering breath.

"Hook." I say.

**AN:/ The suspense! So if anyone's confused, everything and I mean EVERYTHING is going to be cleared up next chapter. Emma faces Killian and Regina next chapter while also regaining that pesky memory loss. There may be some tears shed…you know. ;) I took some of the speeches from my fav movies, 300 & Braveheart…people a lot like Emma. Please review :) **


	3. Part 3

**An:/ Epilouge comes up after this chapter. I wanted it to be short and it was done in like a day. ;) I'm speedy like that. LOOOOVEE YOU ALL. **

* * *

The man from my dreams was lively, full of passion and drive. His eyes were light blue, his hard dark, his face lined with black stubble that was a contrast to his smooth skin.

This man was nothing like that.

.

His eyes were dead, empty and cold.

His face, clean and shaven.

He wore the all black armor, with the Queen's crest on the center.

He had a hand instead of a Hook.

He grins at me, nothing but pure malice behind it.

"Hello Princess."

.

"Well, if it isn't Princess Emma, or should I say Queen?" Regina drawls.

She wears a dress made out of metal and crows feathers. She's terrifying really.

I hold my sword at my side.

"Regina." I say.

"You know, when I placed that curse on you, you were supposed to stay dead." She snarls.

"What woke you up? Or whom?" She asks her voice not concealing her anger.

I stay silent until her hand comes around my neck, restricting my air. I scrapple at my neck.

"WHO WAS IT?" She snarls, her eyes flashing.

"I-I don't know! I woke up alone! I didn't even know who I was!" I say hoarsely.

She holds me for a few more seconds, my eyes rolling back.  
She drops me.

I fall coughing to the floor and realize Hook now holds my sword.

"Why have you come Emma? To save your kingdom?" She asks.

"To see Henry? Or do you not remember him?" She asks.

Henry. I knew he was my son, yet I didn't feel maternal…it was odd.

The name was just a name without a meaning.

Regina laughs.

"Darling, when I put you under that curse, I made you forget him. He doesn't remember you, you should know." She says.

It's a knife in the gut and I clench my eyes shut.

"But then again, you took my love away, as I did for both of yours," She says gesturing to Hook.

"Now, I suppose it's best to put you out of your misery," She says.

I look up and see her staring at me.

"What did I ever do to you? You waged a war that is punishment for my sin!" I yell.

Someone grabs me from behind.

"NO!" I yell trying to get away from their grip. Hook watches me with interest.

I struggle in the arms until Regina comes up.

"A MAN WHO DOESN'T FIGHT FOR WHAT HE WANTS DESERVES WHAT HE GETS!" I yell.

Hook's eyes flash. "

"You said that to me, once. On the beanstalk, we were talking and that's what you said, Killian!" I say, finally breaking.

Tears rush down my face.

My true love was going to watch me die.

"I fought for you! I trekked miles to get to you, damn it. I did all of this for you, and you're going to let me die!" I scream.

He looks down.

"You're a bloody wench," He snarls.

It's the knife in my heart that does it.

Regina smiles at me.

"Don't you see Emma? He doesn't love you, not really," She says, her voice full of fake sadness.

"Robin would be furious over this Regina," I snarl.

Her eyes turn cold.

"You don't get to say that name." She challenges.

"I saved an innocent woman, I saved her Marion, unknowing Regina. I am not my mother who couldn't keep a secret, I couldn't kill an innocent woman!" I yell.

I am flung across the room, my sword inches away.

I hold it and stand up.

"Let's go Regina, right here, right now. You want me dead?" I ask.

"How's about we let your lover challenge you?" She asks.

Killian unsheathes his sword.

His is dark long and black.

Regina is gone in cloud of purple smoke.

I see a box…a box my mother's heart was supposed to go in.

I can feel his heart is in there.

.

We circle each other.

His face is covered with a menace filled smile.

"I don't want to hurt you, Killian." I say.

"Well I want you dead, so I suppose we're on opposite teams now aren't we love," He says.

"How can you let her control you?" I ask, letting my anger come out.

"No one controls me!" He shouts coming at me.

I raise my sword up in defense.

Sparks off of the metal fly in every which direction.

"Killian," I growl shoving him off of me.

He laughs, swinging down on me again.

He had three hundred something years to practice, I had two.

I bring my sword down, and he backstops me.

We're locked as I grit my teeth.

He looks at me, his eyes dark and glowing.

I can't kill him.

My sword clatters to the ground, as I fall.

"Love clouding your vision, Swan?" He says, bitingly.

His sword is aimed at my neck.

Regina claps.

"Very good, pet. You've apprehended the little bitch." She sneers. Killian's eyes are trained on mine.

I have one shot at this. One shot only.

I am going to need sheer will power and determination to get through this.

I reach my hand up and touch my chest.

I jam my hand into my chest and scream in frustration.

Everyone jumps at one.

I rip the heart from my chest.

.

Regina's eyes widen as do Killian's.

"Find the heart!" She yells.

I scramble up and rush to the box.

Regina wraps her hand around my wrist.

I think of Killian kissing me.

I think of Henry.

I think of my parents.

I think of Killian.

I have one shot at this.

She won't ruin it.

I let forth a burst of pure, white magic.

This is what he had given me.

Regina is blown to the other side of the room, where my heart is, but that's fine.

I take Killian's heart and rush to him where he lies on the ground. I remove the armor and stare at his chest.

I feel a slight squeeze on my heart.

Regina stands.

"I'm sorry." I whisper before driving the heart into his chest as my own is crushed.

.


	4. Part 4

**AN:/ Here it is, the final chapter to my fav fic that I have written thus far. Its full of angst and quite a bit of tissues are required (at least on my part). So with that being said, please make sure to review and to subscribe/follow me for more updates. Thank you to Adam and Eddie for being such fabulous writers. Truly, they outdo themselves. (I MEAN DID YOU SEE THAT KISS HOLY HELL). **

**Disclaimer: that's funny, i'm not that creative. :) **

Epilogue:

When all is said and done, the kingdom is not the same.

The trees are barren.

The Earth is scorched, the people lie dying in the streets.

He looks upon his beauty, tears washing against her skin.

Regina stands, looking at the girl, something akin to pity in her eyes.

"Let me take her to her mother at least," He begs.

He sets off the same night.

.

The people of Tabor awaken, just as she had.

What the Queen sees breaks her heart as she falls to her knees.

For the second time in their lives, the King and Queen saw their daughter in a glass coffin.

"She gave her life to save mine," Her former love says.

.

People mourn.

She lays in the throne room, which now serves as a resting place for the Princess (Queen really).

He comes to her one night, drunk.

.

He stares at her, his eyes glassy, watery even.

He takes a swig from the rum he's drowned himself in.

"You know, I loved you. God, this bloody kingdom knew it." He says, his voice angry.

"Why did I love you?" He asks.

"Why do I love women, when all they do is leave, huh?" He asks shaking his head.

He runs his hands through his hair.

"But your death hurts worse than hers, Emma. With Milah, I suppose revenge was hope. But for you…I can't even breathe. Do you know that? I can't think, speak or act because damn I miss you." He says.

"I miss your hair, and your smile. I miss the gentle slope of your back as it molded perfectly to my hand. I miss your laugh, your spirit. I miss your eyes and the way they would light up because you were mine, and I was yours the way it was always supposed to be. So, can I wake you up? Is it too late for you?" He asks.

But she doesn't move and he's sitting against a wall. "Because I love you!" He says shaking his head.

"You deserved better. I loved Milah too. When I came back from the sea I carried with me the stench of death and the anger of the lost, my brother, Liam." He says. He pictures his brothers smiling and oh so sure face. "What a bloody fool he'd think I'd be," He mutters to himself.

"I'll tell ya lass, I wasn't worth saving, that's for sure. She did so anyway. And I loved her so much. I loved her more than anyone or anything. Then her crocodile came and he took her away from me. And I became myself again. A self I never cared for, the one who killed. The Hook who hid in the deepest corners of my soul. Until you. See, you remind me of her. Her heart, her spirit. But now you, too, have gone. You both deserved better and I'm so sorry I failed you. I'm so sorry. " He says his eyes welling with tears.

It wasn't fair. He stands, to move over her still corpse.

He wonders if he stares long enough, if he'd join her in heaven.  
But she's an angel and he's a monster and they all know where he'll end up.

He lets a tear fall, and he kisses her, one last time.

"Before I go, just know, you rest well up there my angel." He whispers.

.

Henry remembers everything and it almost shatters the boy.

Regina realizes her mistake.

But Hook doesn't care when Henry comes home, and Regina surrenders.

He doesn't care when she's put in the cell (same cell he locked Emma in years ago).

He doesn't care when the captain he traded the Jolly Roger for, offers it to him.

(He traded that for her).

Everywhere he looks, he sees something in her.

The sun is her spirit, the stars are her eyes, the moon is the gentle slope of her smile.

And he hates it.

He hates it.

.

Everynight, he stands by the glass coffin, containing her still body.

He likes to think she's taking a nap, and that she'll wake up, her sea eyes lit up with love and light, and she'll hug him, and kiss him, chastising him for being silly.

'Don't worry' she'd say.

But Emma can't speak, and she's certainly not waking up anytime soon, and her eyes are closed and dark and he's sitting by her cursed body.

Sometimes he thinks she moves.

Just a twitch of the finger, a finger that maybe would've had a ring on it.

Sometimes he thinks her eye lashes flutter, gently against her alabaster skin.

Her finger would never have a ring on it, her eyelashes shall never flutter and flick against her skin, and he needs to stop dreaming because it will never happen and he can't live like this any longer.

He dreams for her. Of sand and salty air and skin. Of weddings, and children.

He dreams of children often. (Henry isn't a child anymore, he's a shadow too).

He dreams of their children running, and sailing.

Of children who will never be birthed from their mother.

So many (living) children.

Children who were his and Emma's.

Adorable children who kiss and fondle their mothers.

Except, sometimes it's only pictures. He never is himself really, it's a fake image of him and her, living an unreal day at the beach with their children.

Dreams are the reality that will never happen.

Other nights, he dreams of her dying, not just sleeping.

Others, Emma is awake, but Neal has woken her. Night terrors that horrify him, to where he wakes up screaming.

He's stopped living. He waits for her.

.

He wakes up, to fingers running through his hair.

'It's another dream,' He thinks bitterly.

"It's not a dream, you silly man." Her sweet voice says.

"And you reek of rum, perhaps your liver would like a break, Killian." She teases.

This dream was a little too real for him.

"If you look up, you'll see me," She says.

"Only to watch you vanish my dear." He says.

He sounds worn.

"Killian, you did it," She whispers.

"Killian, look at me," She says angrily.

He doesn't move.

Perhaps he's been granted death.

"Killian, please," She says.

He's never been one to deny her anything.

So he looks up.

Her eye lashes flutter delicately against her alabaster skin.

Her mouth forms a smile with perfectly rounded diamond teeth.

Her eyes are alight like the sun rising above them.

She has a heartbeat.

"How-how did-" He's speechless.

She touches his cheek.

"Sometimes there's more powerful magic than true love, and well...I guess we just happen to have both. You gave me my heart." She whispers.

He kisses her, and a burst of white magic flows through the room.

.

There will be no more winters.

A family will be formed.

A new Queen + King.

Unconventional at best, loving, and truthful.

True Love prevailed.

.

Rumplestiltskin turned and looked to Regina.

"You promised me a happy ending," She snarls.

"That's why I placed that curse on her," She says.

The imp giggles childishly.

"Well, I woke her up..." he says.

"How?" She asks, her hands flying to the bars where she's been contained.

He giggles.

"So dearie, about that happy ending..."

* * *

**AN:/ Oh wow, we did it. And this is done. Perhaps if I get good reviews, I may write a sequel. I am enjoying my other story HALO so please check it out. Please leave a review if you liked it and give it a smiley face. :) Thank you so much guys! AH! :) Xx **


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